


Just a Drop

by Squarepeg72



Series: Out of the Box [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidents, Coffee Shops, F/M, First Meetings, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 02:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17778458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squarepeg72/pseuds/Squarepeg72
Summary: Running late for her first day is not the way Pansy wanted to impress her boss. Tripping over his case and covering him with coffee might must just be even worse.





	Just a Drop

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrnobella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/gifts).



> Written for Draco's Den #SecretAdmirer 2019 Fic Exchange
> 
> Prompt: It all started out with the damn cup of [beverage choice]. You just...you just spilled it with such grace. Now I can't get you out of my head and I'll do anything to have you as mine, that even includes admiring you from afar while you figure out who keeps dropping those little notes in your mailbox.
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> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/148170750@N07/40125445883/in/dateposted-public/)  
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> [Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/12167236264/playlist/7bVx8gC97c0VhHA0tlSLSD?si=N-AWbcg5Q0ydViAKZCSSqQ)

His fall started at The Bouncing Bean. Tony Stark was sitting at a small table by the pick-up window trying to enjoy his coffee and some anonymity. Slouching in his seat and sunglasses on his face usually kept people from recognizing him. It was his little piece of peace in the mornings. Until this morning. She stumbled into his peace. It was partially his fault. His case was sticking out past the edge of the table, and her foot caught on it as she rushed by.

The world seemed to narrow on her face as she, and her coffee, fell to the floor. “I am so sorry,” she stuttered as she tried to wipe the coffee from the hem of his pants. “I didn’t see your case and I was in a hurry. My boss is going to kill me. I’m so late …”

Her day started off with a fall. Pansy Parkinson had gone to bed the night before with dreams of an amazing first day at her internship. What should have been an easy start to the day turned into a comedy of errors. Run into the Bouncing Bean, get her “To Go” order and get to the office. But, today was Monday, so nothing is ever easy. The alarm didn't go off, the cat got out, and she was late for her first day as an intern in Tony Stark’s lab in London. All her life, she had been told that things happen in threes, good or bad. Pansy Parkinson decided that someone lied. Her bad luck should have stopped with running late. His case, hiding under the table, had other ideas. In her rush to get her coffee and get to work, she caught her foot on his case and headed for the floor. The world stopped as her hands hit the floor and she watched her coffee splash out of her cup and on to his pants.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he reached to help her up. “Don’t worry about my pants. I have more …”

She took over everything. All Tony could think about was the look on her face as she fell towards the floor. He had plenty of work to do, but there was something about her that kept drawing him back. He had dropped three different prototypes since he got to the lab from the coffee shop. There had to be a way to talk to her again. He was a genius. He could figure this out. He was so stunned by her beauty, and her coffee, that he had forgotten to find out her name.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” A familiar voice drifted down the hall.

“I was late this morning, and I feel like I am holding up everything …”

He never left her mind. Pansy spent most of her lunch daydreaming about the brown eyes she saw peep over the top of his sunglasses as he helped her up from the floor. They sparkled with mischief and sadness. It was a strange and intriguing combination. Too bad she had been in too big of a hurry to ask his name. She had to figure out a way to run into him again. Hopefully, not with a cup of coffee in her hand. She needed to get her mind back on the paperwork she needed to fill out before she could start working on the programming she had been hired to do.

Needing to clear her head, she asked a colleague to walk with her to the restroom.

“Miss, there is a message for you,” an electronic voice sounded in her earpiece as she returned to her desk. “To the lady in red, Never has a drop of coffee looked so graceful. Running late is no reason to forgo introductions…”

He was not above using Jarvis and Friday to get his way. There should be benefits to being the boss. Like dropping notes to unsuspecting interns in the computer program development office. Her name is Pansy, and she’s his new obsession. He may or may not have had Jarvis redirect cameras so he could watch her type and bite her lower lip as she concentrated on her given task. So much grace in such small movements. It’s not like he asked Friday to kidnap her and take her to his penthouse. He just asked them to drop a note, and a rose on her desk the next time she stepped away. He had a grand total of three days to seduce her before Valentine’s Day. He could do this. The question was, could he keep her in the dark as to who he was?

“I swear that camera is following every move I make.” Her voice moved through his head from the earpiece he was never without. “I just wish I had gotten the name of the guy I covered in coffee this morning. If I knew his name, maybe I could get his eyes out of my mind …”

She was not paranoid, she hoped. It felt like the cameras in the lab had been following her all morning and Notes kept appearing on her desk when she was away from it. She had brought a vase from home this morning because the number of roses she had received since yesterday afternoon had quickly outgrown the cup she started with. She obviously had a secret admirer, but she wasn’t sure that she should find out who it was. Office romances were never a good idea. She had too much at stake to risk that.

“Miss, another message.” The voice in her ear, know to everyone as Jarvis, drew her attention away from the code she was supposed to be writing. “My dear Pansy, not everyone can fall with grace. I dreamt of catching you and your coffee. What can I do about a fascination that started with just a drop …”

His hand shook as he pulled open the door. He was Tony Stark. He had fought aliens and terrorists without blinking an eye. But, meeting the dark-haired witch of his dreams had brought him to his knees. He realized her extra gifts when she floated a mug of coffee to her desk when she was engrossed in a challenging section of code. Not that was a deal breaker. It just made her seem even more graceful. He needed that grace in his life. Now all he had to do was convince her to give him a chance. Today was going to be the big reveal at the place where they first ran into each other. Jarvis and Friday had threatened to quit if they had to carry another note, message or gift to her when she wasn’t looking. Tony settled into his favorite table and waited.

“I can’t believe I am going to be late again.” Her mumblings preceded her entry into The Bouncing Bean. “Day four of this internship and I am late for the third time. I am not going to have a position if I can’t figure this out …”

She was late, again. There was no way she was keeping her job if this kept up. She had not slept well last night and hit the snooze bar too many times this morning. She still could not figure out who was sending her messages and flowers. It had to be someone from inside the company because Jarvis and Friday were involved. There was only one person in the company she had not met yet, Tony Stark. She was not surprised by this as he was a busy man and did not have time to meet every intern and delivery man. The one time she had seen him, it had been from behind as he walked down the hall towards the lab. And, oh my, what a behind. If the front was anything like the back, she was in trouble. She had a soft spot for bad boys with brains, and his reputation said he was just her type.

“Tomorrow is a day for love,” his last message had read. “Meet me where you start your day and occasionally drop in on a lap or two …”

Pansy stopped in her tracks as she saw the object of her speculation sitting a the table closest to the Pick up window. She had to be dreaming. There is no way that he was the one she spilt coffee on three days ago. That would be too humiliating. Cautiously, she approached his table. “Mr Stark? Why are you here? Did I do something wrong?”

Tony lowered his sunglasses and reached for her hand. Kissing her knuckles, he pulled her into the seat beside him. “I got your favorite. Care to join me? I promise not to spill a drop.”


End file.
